Now in its third year, Basilica Soundscape is one of the most exciting small-scale music and art festivals going. The event, sold out in advance for the first time, took place on September 12-13 at the Basilica Hudson in Hudson, a small, down-on-its-knees city in upstate New York that’s become a remote hotspot for the […]
“Call Across Rooms”, from Grouper‘s forthcoming album Ruins, begins with a sound that will be very familiar to fans of Liz Harris’ music: a bed of tape hiss from her four-track machine. But the music that follows signals a new sound and approach. “I have a present to give you, when we finally figure it out”, Harris whisper-sings with […]
I can confidently say that Lee Fields is the only artist on Sound it Out to date who has had a record released in the 60’s. Mr. Fields has been making gritty, heartfelt music for 43 years on 12 different record labels. “Still Gets Me Down” is a B-side to the “Just Can’t Win” 7″ […]
Veteran Memphis eccentrics The Grifters, who recorded an impressive collection of albums and EPs in the ‘90s, are playing a select few shows in the coming months to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their breakout release Crappin’ You Negative. For me, the Grifters hit their creative stride two years later with Ain’t My Lookout, the […]
As their comically generic name suggests, the Los Angeles trio Music Go Music offers a mystery shrouded in the banalities of everyday life. Their press release spins a great yarn, explaining that since we last saw them in 2010, members Gala Bell, Torg, and Kamer Maza have been busy working on film, TV and theater […]
Helado Negro (aka Roberto Lange) is hard to explain. He’s from all over the place—Ecuador, Florida, Georgia, and now Brooklyn. He’s an accomplished installation artist, and he also makes sexy, mysterious music that melds English and Spanish vocals. The new Helado Negro record is called Double Youth, and it’s his most ambitious and diverse to […]
I’m a sucker for a nice little three-minute pop gem. Whether it’s the Beatles, Teenage Fanclub, the Lemonheads or the latest from Anglo-Australian (Angstralian?) quartet, Allo Darlin’, a song that can grab you, shake you and implant a melody in your head is an under-appreciated pleasure. Maybe it’s their economy of vision or maybe it’s […]
Aww man. It’s my first post for Sound It Out, and I wanted it to be free of the dreaded “so-and-so meets so-and-so” music-writing cliche. But Parquet Courts is one of those bands that make it impossible to avoid those types of remarks, not because they are overly-derivative or beholden to their influences, but because […]
Dan Boeckner is an absurdly charismatic stage presence. He’s whippet-thin with haunted eyes and he throws himself completely into performing a song. He was previously in Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs; now he splits lead vocals and songwriting with Britt Daniel in Divine Fits, and their appearance on Letterman in 2012 was riveting. Boeckner’s latest project […]
Brighton, UK trio The Wytches play scary-rock that howls and swings. They make me think of the Banana Splits if those terrifying costumes had been occupied by members of 45 Grave and The Gun Club. It’s great to hear some really fun goth/horror/surf music right about now. The Wytches’ debut album Annabel Dream Reader came […]